US Asset Management LLC Sells 5,606 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• US Asset Management LLC significantly reduced its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 71.6%, selling 5,606 shares, leaving it with 2,226 shares valued at approximately $314,000.
• Several large investors have increased their stakes in Morgan Stanley, contributing to 84.19% of the stock now being owned by institutional investors.
• Morgan Stanley recently raised its quarterly dividend to $1.00 per share, reflecting a commitment to returning value to shareholders amid a share buyback plan worth $20 billion.

US Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 71.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,226 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 5,606 shares during the quarter. US Asset Management LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $314,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. McLean Asset Management Corp grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.5% during the second quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 3,007 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $430,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 1.5% during the second quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 5,022 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $707,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Congress Park Capital LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.4% during the second quarter. Congress Park Capital LLC now owns 3,250 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $458,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Lantz Financial LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 4.7% during the second quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 1,800 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $254,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Finally, Register Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 1.8% during the second quarter. Register Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,932 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $695,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on MS shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $127.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $142.00.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS stock opened at $160.13 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $94.33 and a one year high of $163.98. The company's fifty day moving average price is $148.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $132.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The company has a market capitalization of $255.62 billion, a PE ratio of 18.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.33.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.15. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.06% and a return on equity of 15.20%. The firm had revenue of $16.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.82 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is presently 45.30%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, July 1st that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 43,566 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.97, for a total value of $6,141,499.02. Following the transaction, the insider owned 294,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $41,480,422.50. The trade was a 12.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 25,583 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.81, for a total transaction of $3,576,759.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 128,662 shares in the company, valued at $17,988,234.22. This trade represents a 16.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,841,628. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley, a financial holding company, provides various financial products and services to corporations, governments, financial institutions, and individuals in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. It operates through Institutional Securities, Wealth Management, and Investment Management segments.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MS? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.